Translations coming soon

Dear School District of Philadelphia Community,

As the District embarks on Phase 8 of the Facilities Planning Process, we are launching a variety of advisory groups that will offer feedback, opinions, and experiences to inform the Facilities Plan. I would like to invite you to apply to become a member of one of the District’s Facilities Planning Process Advisory Groups. We are accepting applications for five different Advisory Groups:

• Parents/Guardians Advisory Group
• Registered Community Organizations and Community Leaders Group
• School Leaders Group
• School Support Staff Advisory Group (climate staff, paraprofessionals, BCAs, nurses, special education assistants, etc.)
• Teachers Advisory Group

The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is composed of more than 300 buildings. Some of the District’s oldest buildings are 120 years old. More than 200 of those buildings were built before 1978, with the average age of a building being seventy-three (73) years old. Additionally, although there have been recent increases in enrollment, the capacity of our facilities far exceeds our current student enrollment.

In June 2022, as part of the development of the District’s new 5-year strategic plan, Accelerate Philly, we launched an 8-phase facilities planning process that focused on improving student achievement while addressing the operational needs and priorities of the District. Earlier phases of the planning process included the development of Academic Baseline Standards; development of a swing space plan; and currently, the creation of a comprehensive facilities data warehouse.

Now we need your help. As we work to develop a comprehensive District Facilities Plan that addresses the educational needs of students, the voices of community stakeholders are critical. Please consider applying to be a member of one of the Advisory Groups. Advisory group members will be asked to provide feedback, opinions, and experiences to inform the Facilities Plan. 

By joining this advisory group you can expect to:

• Participate in 90-minute meetings throughout the planning process between January and May 2025 (meeting time and format to be determined).
• Engage with provided materials before and after meetings (~1 hour/meeting).
• Provide actionable, concrete feedback on draft recommendations and plan components in keeping with their own experiences.
• Share and uplift the opinions and insights from their own community, role group, etc.

Please complete the application that is applicable to you by December 1, 2024. 

• School leaders, teachers, and school-based staff apply here

• Parents and Guardians apply here

• Community Leaders apply here

We hope that you will also take the time to participate in one of our upcoming in-person or virtual listening sessions. These sessions are an opportunity for you to share your thoughts on what is most important to offer in our schools and how decisions regarding our facilities should be informed. We look forward to your participation and thank you for being involved in addressing the needs of our students and school communities. To learn more about the facilities planning process, please visit www.philasd.org/fpp.

Sincerely,

Oz Hill
Deputy Superintendent of Operations
The School District of Philadelphia